Three Friends. Four Continents. One Unconventional Detour Around the World.

About the Book

“Brave, funny, and deeply moving.” — Cathy Alter, author of Up for Renewal: What Magazines Taught Me About Love, Sex, and Starting Over

“Three cheers to The Lost Girls for showing us, with good humor and graceful prose, the beauty and importance of leading life astray.” — Franz Wisner, New York Times Bestselling author of Honeymoon with My Brother

Three friends, each on the brink of a quarter-life crisis, make a pact to quit their high pressure New York City media jobs and leave behind their friends, boyfriends, and everything familiar to embark on a year-long backpacking adventure around the world in The Lost Girls.

Book Description

Jen, Holly, and Amanda are at a crossroads. They're feeling the pressure to hit certain milestones—scoring a big promotion, finding a soul mate, having 2.2 kids—before they reach their early thirties. When personal challenges force them to reevaluate their lives, they decide it's now or never to do something daring. Unable to gain perspective in fast-paced Manhattan, the three twentysomethings quit their coveted media jobs and leave behind their friends, boyfriends, and everything familiar to travel the globe. Dubbing themselves the Lost Girls, they embark on an epic yearlong search for inspiration and direction.

As they journey 60,000 miles across four continents and more than a dozen countries, Jen, Holly, and Amanda step far outside of their comfort zones, embracing every adventure and experience the world has to offer—shooting blowguns with Yagua elders in the Amazon, learning capoeira on the beaches of Brazil, volunteering with preteen girls at a school in rural Kenya, hiking with Hmong villagers in Vietnam, and driving through Australia in a psychedelic camper van. Along the way, the Lost Girls find not only themselves but also a lifelong friendship. Ultimately, theirs is a story of true sisterhood—a bond forged by sharing beds and backpacks, enduring exotic illnesses, fending off aggressive street vendors, trekking across rivers and over mountains, and standing by one another through heartaches, whirlwind romances, and everything in the world in between.

This candid and compelling memoir will speak to anyone who has ever felt the desire to spread her wings and discover the world with her best friends by her side.

Educator and Librarian Resources

Critical Praise

“[P]otentially serious side effects [include] chronic wanderlust; severe allergic reactions to the daily grind; and an incurable desire to toss that Blackberry down a drain….Three cheers to the Lost Girls for showing us, with good humor and graceful prose, the beauty and importance of leading life astray.” — Franz Wisner, New York Times Bestselling author of Honeymoon with My Brother

“Brave, funny, and deeply moving, THE LOST GIRLS is a real-life fairy tale for anyone who’s ever wanted to chuck it all and see the world with a best friend on each arm.” — Cathy Alter, author of Up for Renewal: What Magazines Taught Me About Love, Sex, and Starting Over

“The three authors, all gifted writers...provide passionate, vivid descriptions of their far-flung travels, bolstered by thoughtful insights and genuine intentions, making this an intensely enjoyable read for fans of travel writing....immediately relatable for any twenty-something unsure of his or her future (i.e., most of them).” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“For anyone-young or old, female or male-who has ever been tempted to trade in the rat race for the thrill and adventure of long-term global travel. And after reading this book, don’t be surprised if you want to do just that.” — David Farley, author of An Irreverent Curiosity

“The Lost Girls captures the generational struggle so many twentysomethings face as they try to find their way with no clear map. I ... found myself cheering as they discovered more than they could have bargained for.” — Laura Dave, author of The Divorce Party

“A triumphant journey about losing yourself, finding yourself and coming home again. Hitch yourself to their ride: you’ll embark on a transformative journey of your own.” — Allison Winn Scotch, New York Times bestselling author of The One That I Want and Time of My Life

“...[W]hen it comes to travel (and most other things), a goal is a dream with a deadline, but the Lost Girls have gone one step further….The best travel adventures, the most memorable experiences happen when things don’t go according to plan. That’s why I love this book.” — Peter Greenberg, Travel Editor, CBS News

HarperCollins Reader

When you purchase e-books from HarperCollins, you can read it on our HarperCollins Reader App that is available on your iPhone/iPad, Android or Kindle Fire.

We encourage you to use the HC Reader App since it supports our type of e-book files and you may have some trouble with a different reader app.

Instructions

Please make sure you have a HarperCollins Account. If you purchase/have purchased an e-book from HarperCollins, this is your account login and password. Otherwise, please click here to register.

Download the HC Reader App on iPhone/iPad, Android or Kindle Fire and sign in with your HarperCollins account (your username is an e-mail address). Please note that Kindle Fire users must edit their settings (Settings < Device) to allow installation of apps in order to download the HC Reader App. This App is not available in the Amazon App Store.